PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato outlined her budget initiatives on Wednesday.
Chief among them is a proposed property tax increase, but it is still under debate how much of an increase will happen. Some members of Allegheny County Council argue Innamorato’s proposal is too high, but she said anything less could be catastrophic.
People who own property in Allegheny County pay taxes that pay for things like county parks, staffing at the county jail and running the courthouse, among others. Over the last several years, a lot of that money came from special federal and state funds. But Innamorato says it’s time to be “clear-eyed about the reality that we’re facing.”
“A structural deficit doesn’t happen overnight,” she said. “We’ve gone 12 years without raising property taxes in Allegheny County.”
Neighboring counties have raised taxes over the years. Westmoreland County raised property taxes by 32.5 percent last year. Innamorato’s budget has a 46.5 percent raise, which converts to an increase of 2.2 mills. In practical numbers, an average Allegheny County house valued at $110,400 would pay $182 more per year.